The Genie's Gifts, India
by Norrsken
Summary: As promised, my sequel to Purple Lolly's Macedonian part of the tale. In India Alexander and Hephaestion find themselves in dire circumstances.
1. Dire Tidings For A Dark Lord

Note from the author

Hello, I am Norrsken. As my friend purple lolly told you in her part of this tale this is a joint effort by the both of us. Here, at lont last, is now my part of the tale. Now Alexander and Hephaestion are now in India. Little Hephaestion's adventure when he got the nacklaces is long since forgotten. Soon things will happen that will make him remember...

If you think that you have missed sometuing out, here below is the link to the first part of the story, written by purple lolly:

.net/s/6751013/1/The_Genies_Gifts

All the best wishes, Read and enjoy,

/ Norrsken

**The Genie's Gifts**

**INDIA**

**Chapter One**

Somewhere in the Indian jungle, 327 BC

Deep in the Indian jungle there was a realm no one dared approach. A whole people cowered in its shadow, most of them living in an age old city built in honor of the Evil Goddess Khali. It was most aptly named Khalisahr. Her temple was the most prominent building, closely watched by her priest and guardians and surrounded by all kinds of venomous and constricting snakes.

The ruler of this remote and evil realm was the fierce warlord Ahriman, formerly of Scythia. He was so powerful that not only his Indian subjects obeyed him. No, even the tigers, panthers and venomous snakes in the jungle were his obedient and willing slaves, always prepared to do his bidding with all kinds of evil deeds. They guarded his gloomy dwelling far better than his many strong human watchers. He resided in a palace that had been built a very long time ago. One grand cupola was surrounded by onion shaped towers and buildings. It's mighty stone boulders were covered by green moss, dripping from the jungle moisture. The constant damp never dried up since violent torrents of rain followed each other all the year around, with a very short dry season in the middle of the steaming hot and endless summer.

The Lord Ahriman was sitting on a throne in the palace's great hall, dark of hair and with gleaming green eyes. He was dressed in a cool, loosely donned black tunic, fastened around his waist with a sash adorned with gold plaits and rubies. A chain made of red gold hung around his neck and enormous blood red rubies glimmered like evil eyes from its elaborate curls. Soft crimson cushions supported his muscular frame and peacock fans wafted by cringing servants gave him some relief from the oppressive heat. He refreshed himself with blood red fruit juice from a golden chalice adorned with poisonous green emeralds.

Now an unfamiliar guest came near his throne, forcefully nudged by two black panthers. It was a Scythian, worn out from long travels and hardships. He cringed in an even more fearful manner than the Lord Ahriman's own citizens and servants and he seemed most uncomfortable when he spoke with a trembling and stuttering voice.

"My Lord Ahriman. I am Szandor, your brother Ohrlaszh's close servant. I bear you sad tidings. The great warlord Ohrlaszh is dead. He has been slain in a most cruel manner by Sikandar and his companion Hephaestion. "

After bringing these sorrowful tidings Szandor threw himself at the feet of the Dark Lord Ahriman, fearing the very worst.

The Lord Ahriman was overwhelmed by sorrow and dismay. Ohrlasz was his most beloved brother, his most powerful relative. He had always been there, faithfully guarding the West from all enemies. He simply could not have perished, not at the hands of the ignominious Greek intruders. All his prominent features, especially his luminous green eyes, his determined face and his fiery red hair came before his bereaved brother. The Lord Ahriman cried out in anger and disbelief.

"No. You lie to me! This cannot have happened. This cannot be true!"

The trembling Scythian crept closer and put something into his lap. It was a chain of pure red gold, adorned with giant, blood red rubies, an exact replica of the valuable necklace around the Lord Ahriman's own neck. It was sullied by dried blood. He immediately recognized it as his dear brother's most precious possession. His cruel black heart was filled with insane grief for the only human being he had ever loved and admired and he roared in a violent rage:

"Tell me all about this outrage. Revenge! I will have my revenge upon Sikandar and this Hephaestion!"

All his subjects and all jungle beasts shuddered and covered in the shadow of his outburst. As he calmed down the Scythian told his tale. The Dark Lord Ahriman carefully listened. He nodded when he heard about his brother's ingenious plan to kidnap Sikandar and lure his Companions into a deathly trap. At first it worked out reasonably well. After a lot of bickering and strife amongst themselves the Companions came to the Rock of Chorienes to rescue their Golden King. Then all went wrong. Ohrlaszh's brave followers were slain one by on by the fierce Companions and then, as he was fighting against the King's best friend Hephaestion, the Golden King came to help his friend in the fight. Together they managed to slay Ohrlaszh.

The brave Scythian Warlord was no more.

The Dark Lord Ahriman sat for a long time in brooding silence, pondering the grim tale that he had heard. As he brooded a violent torrent of rain drenched the city of Khalisahr and the trees of the jungle swayed in the wild winds. The Lord Ahriman then wandered the dark halls and corridors of his sinister palace, making clever and insidious plans to avenge his dear departed brother.


	2. Plans For Revenge

**Chapter Two**

**326 BC**

A year went by. Sikandar and his army marched along, coming closer and closer to the deep jungles surrounding the forbidden city of Khalisahr. The great Kings Poros, Taxiles and Ambhi had been defeated and were now his reluctant subjects. Not even their huge war elephants had been enough to scare and defeat Sikandar's terrible army. All of India trembled at the thought of this army marching towards them.

There was only one place in all India where the subjects did not feel any fear for Sikandar.

In the forbidden city of Khalisahr its people feared the Dark Lord Ahriman more than anything on this earth.

They did not even know about the approach of Sikandar and his formidable Army.

The Dark Lord knew that his dear brother's slayers were near now. He could feel it in his black heart. Now his sinister plans were about to be realized. He went into his private temple, adorned with black cupolas and dark walls. It was adorned with blood red and velvet flowers smelling so strongly that their fragrance overwhelmed his servants. They fell senseless to the cold black stone floor.

The Dark Lord Ahriman threw himself at the feet of the statue of his Goddess. She was as black as the deepest night, her eyes glittering like coals at the fireside; her hair reached down to her knees. She was dressed in a scarlet gown and a midnight blue cloak. Flashing jewels adorned her neck and wrists and she had wreaths of strong smelling flowers around her neck and waist.

"Mighty Khali, you know that I have an Enemy who has done me great wrong! Now he is coming closer. Mighty Khali, you must grant me my revenge! "

The Dark Lord Ahriman felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the coal black eyes of the Goddess Khali. She graciously nodded at him.

"Yes, my beloved Ahriman, you have always been my most faithful subject and worshiper. I will grant your plea. I will do even more, I will see to it by my own hand. "

Then the Goddess left her temple, walking with great strides through the jungle. The frightened subjects of her city cowered in her path.

Dark times were in hand when the Goddess of Death herself went out of her temple to do the bidding of the Dark Lord Ahriman.


	3. A Dangerous Visitor

**Chapter Three**

**India, The land of the Five Rivers, 326 BC**

**Vigilant Watch**

Hephaestion had always been vigilant and protective. It was well needed. His Golden One was reckless and in constant need of careful protection. As the years went by, it became more and more difficult to save him from his own recklessness.

Now, they had come a very long way together. They were marching through the endless jungles of India. The trees were so tall that many of them seemed to grow high up into the heavens. It was constantly damp in the immense forest, with dew drops falling like crystals from the abundant foliage. Strange looking flowers sprouted everywhere. Mostly they were fragrant and sweet smelling.

One of them certainly wasn't. It was enormous with dark red petals. They had walked near to it to watch it since they had never seen anything like it before. They soon regretted their curiosity. It stank like rotten meat or rotting corpses. Quickly they withdrew from the giant flower. Many flies and other insects did not. They liked the peculiar smell...

These days Hephaestion had more than Alexander to protect and be vigilant about. One of his best friends in the Army, the General Ptolemy, had been taken very seriously ill from a snakebite. For some time they all despaired and thought that they would have to see him die before their very eyes. Then Alexander had fallen asleep during their vigil at his sickbed. They did not dare to wake the King. Also, he was in desperate need of sleep and recuperation.

When Alexander woke up, he told them about a God sent dream that had come to him in that deep sleep. He had seen a small, white snake come towards him with a strange looking herb in its mouth. He knew that it was one of Asclepios' snakes that wanted to show him the cure for his friend's ailment.

As soon as he was sufficiently awakened the King went to look for the herb together with the Healer Amanda. They returned with it in less than an hour. It was a bouquet of silvery white flowers surrounded by light green foliage. The King and his Healer instantly prepared an ointment and a herbal concoction and administered it to the General Ptolemy. At first there was no change whatsoever. Then, the day after, the patient awakened from his feverish and delirious condition, eagerly asking for food and wine.

They all embraced him and administered a bowl of strengthening broth. Now he was slowly recuperatingand as Hephaestion sat with him on a warm, moss clad stone, the sun shone down on them, sifting through the thick foliage of the jungle trees. The faithful Guards, Stefanos and Alexios, stood carefully watching over the Generals Hephaestion and Ptolemy. They had good help from Nychta and Mavra, Hephaestion's "tame" black panthers.

**The King's Visitor**

Alexander was restless. He wanted to push forward into the jungle. The remote countries beckoned to him with their exotic features and treasures. Far beyond was the Eastern Ocean at the End or the World.

Most of all, the King wanted to see that distant place. It was alluring and it must be perfect. He wanted with all his heart's desire to stand there and watch the waves of the Eastern Ocean, together with Hephaestion.

Alexander was bored. Hephaestion sat together with Ptolemy and the Guards. He seemed perfectly content with the forced rest and inactivity. The sun that sifted through the foliage formed strange patterns in the emerald green grass. It shone down on Hephaestion, making his long beautiful auburn hair shimmer in tones of copper and gold. His friend was still beautiful, even if he had been worn out by long campaigns and too much work and responsibilities. Alexander let his eyes rest on Hephaestion. At the thought of his friend and his constant care and concern for them all, he was not bored any more.

Suddenly, there was an alluringly beautiful, fair woman with milk white skin rising from the rose colored and white orchids that clung on the thick tree stems. She beckoned to him as she swung a wreath of red and black flowers hanging around her long neck.

"King Alexander. Follow me," she called out to him. "I will bring you your heart's most sincere desire."

He felt her sweet smell sift into his nostrils, he saw her shimmering sky blue gown and he heard her lilting voice. He urgently wanted to bury his hands in her dark golden and wavy hair. It did not occur to him that his interest in women was usually not that urgently aroused.

He did not see the hissing black snakes coiling around her lithe ankles. Also, he did not see the extra pairs of arms hidden behind her waist and back.

Eagerly, the King rose and followed the unknown woman into the foliage.

**The Friends' Visions**

Ptolemy was still very weak, weary and tired. His foot throbbed from the snake bite, but it felt much better now when the King and his Healer had anointed it and bound it with herbal remedies. He was most satisfied with his rest in Hephaestion's lap. Alexander was fidgeting around as usual. The sun shone down on him, forming a golden halo around him. His fair hair looked like a helmet of spun gold, its curls flowing freely in the light jungle breeze.

Now Ptolemy saw a woman. No, clearly she was a Goddess. Her skin was light brown, her hair white like silver and her gown shining white. She had a cloak in dark green and blue, with silver fringes and she wore simple but brilliant jewelry, emeralds and amethysts in a silver necklace.

She looked Egyptian. Ptolemy knew her from his stay in that distant land. He had liked it well and he had seen her in temples and palaces.

She was the Goddess Isis.

Hephaestion sat carefully guarding his friend Ptolemy. He was glad that the General was recovering well from his dangerous illness after the nearly fatal snake bite. He said a silent Prayer of thanks to the God of Healing.

Now he felt a chilly wind come from the jungle. It was strange since the day had been unbearably hot until then.

A big animal came out between the big trees. It was a giant black jackal. No, it was not an ordinary jackal. It had the body of a man with the head of a jackal. The body was dressed in blue, gold and green. The head was brown and golden like the deathly desert sands, the eyes glowing and feral and the maw filled with razor sharp teeth. A whole bunch of black and brown cobras coiled around its feet.

Hepahestion instantly recognized the Egyptian God of Death. It was Anubis who had come to haunt them. He rose, reaching for his sword in its scabbard.

"NO, you will NOT harm my friends," he called out to the dreaded specter.

Then a black smoke engulfed him. His eyes were clouded and his breath suffocated. He fell down, rendered unconscious from its noxious vapours.

Hephaestion remained unconscious for a very long time.

When he woke up Alexander was gone.

All that remained was a golden strand of his hair, coiled around the neck of a hissing cobra.


	4. The King Allured And Abducted

**Chapter Four**

**The Forbidden City of Khalisahr, 326 BC**

**The King Allured And Abducted**

Alexander eagerly followed the alluring woman into the jungle. She held his hand and gently compelled him to walk under the vault of the enormous trees. Her hand was warm, it felt almost sizzling hot, and she was unnaturally strong for a woman. Once Alexander felt something grasp at his hair. There was a hissing sound quickly silenced by the woman's stern reproach.

"Not yet, my darlings. You must wait until our favourite subject have had his say."

Alexander found this very strange, even threatening. He looked back, wanting the safer company of his friends, but he could not see them. They were well and thoroughly hidden behind a thick curtain of jungle trees. Soon he was lulled by the wonderful fragrances from the woman and the many and beautiful jungle flowers. They were big and overwhelming, like a rainbow of bright and radiant colours. He followed the golden haired woman, his will being sapped by her strong hand that lead him straight into the darkest parts of the jungle.

When they had walked for hours and hours a dark abode rose in front of them. It had many onion shaped towers and minarets, its walls were thick and made from pitch black stones, bricks and mortar. Its gates were adorned with huge snakes, fangs, elephant tusks and ferocious tiger and panther heads.

It looked like the Gates of Hell itself.

Alexander did not see it that way. All that he saw was the sun sifting through the foliage, the sparkling flowers and the beauty of the alluring woman. All that he felt was her soft, silken grasp. All that he smelt was the wonderful scent of her perfume and the flowers around her.

He saw a white city with a beautiful Castle inside. Its onion shaped towers were golden and shone brightly in the sun. Its walls were adorned with fragrant roses and exotic climbers of many different kinds and colours.

It appeared before the allured King as the most wonderful place on all Earth.

Alexander eagerly followed the woman inside.

The fanged gates closed behind him.

**The King Is Missing!**

Hephaestion screamed out loud at the horrifying sight of Alexander's golden hair around the neck of the venomous cobra.

"He is gone! He is GONE! The God of Death has stolen my Alexander!"

Cleitus and the Guards came to him, trying to calm him down. Even Ptolemy rose on weak and wobbly legs. They talked to him, trying to restore his senses and reason.

"Hephaestion. You must stay calm and in order. Things do look very bad, but we have a whole army around us. We must send out a search party for King Alexander. We will find him soon. He cannot be far away."

"Yes, you are right. We must start the search at once!"

Hephaestion drunk some sparkling mountain water from a jug. He then brought some more with him, together with a basket filled with bread and goat cheese. Cleitus and the Guards followed him, together with a party of their most reliable men.

They searched the jungle forever and ever, finding nothing and no one. The big trees with their enormous trunks rose before them like a wall of impregnable obstacles. The beautiful fragrant flowers sent their scents to bedazzle and bewilder them.

Their were no traces of Alexander, neither of any sinister and divine abductors. The Companions were quite confused since they had seen two very different god like abductors take their King and friend away from them.

Hephaestion saw a tunnel leading deeper into the jungle. Nychta and Mavra went towards it. The faithful black panthers sniffed, lifting their right front paws as if to point out the right path.

Hephaestion came up to them, gently patting their furry heads.

"Good girls, good girls, "he said to them. "Let's go find Alexander together.

At the same time, he felt the necklace burning and coiling at his neck and breast. He remembered the time way back in Macedon, when he searched for his little baby sister. He had found Helen with the help of his black panthers then.

He was sure that he would find Alexander now! He simply must find him.

He could not do without him.

**Into The Forbidden City**

Alexander followed the alluring woman into the city. The smell of roses and other fragrant Indian flowers in many brilliant colours overwhelmed him. He felt dizzy, almost nauseous. The woman saw his distress and produced a flagon with a sweet smelling mixture. She poured it into a golden cup and offered it to him. He drank it with eager happiness. At first it tasted good and refreshing. Then he noted a sharp tinge and he recognized the bitter taste and scent of opium. He stumbled and reeled. The golden haired woman took him by the arm. Once more he realized how unnaturally strong she was. She beckoned to him and assisted him when they entered a luxurious Palace. It was filled with beautiful furniture and silken cushions and fabrics. The furniture was made from dark brown and coal black woods, a beautiful contrast to the bright red, orange and crimson colours of the fabrics and cushions. Servants stood everywhere, waving and wafting with giant feathery fans to ward off the excessive heat.

The King of Macedon was taken in to a most beautiful chamber. A bed bedecked with white feather mattresses, cushions and quilts awaited him in the middle of the room. Wonderful, sweet smelling flowers adorned the room. They were put in vases made from gold and silver. A sumptuous meal waited on a table. There were all kinds of delicious eastern food, prepared with herbs and spices. A pitcher with cold water rested in the middle, together with a flagon filled with strong, ruby red wine.

"Sit down, King Sikandar, " the woman beckoned to him. " I want to offer you a feast most luxurious. All the splendours of India will be yours."

Alexander sat down at the table. The soft cushions received him as tenderly as a mother embraces her beloved child. He ate and drank. The food was the best that he had ever tasted and the wine and water the most refreshing ever.

He did not notice the strange aftertaste and the mouldy bitterness at the back of his mouth and tongue. .

Servant girls sang and danced around the table. Strong and agile slaves made gymnastics, jumping and showing off with all kinds of acrobatics and somersaults. Alexander enjoyed the show immensely and applauded the performers with great enthusiasm.

Suddenly, he felt very sleepy. The woman came up to him. She took him in her arms and lifted him with great ease.

"Come with me, Sikandar. Now you must rest. You are tired and you will have a very long rest in my arms."

"Yes, my Mistress, but you have not told me your name yet, "the King answered. "Whoever are you?"

"Khali, my Sikandar, you can call me Khali. "

Now Alexander saw that she was not milk white and golden haired at all. Her skin was dark as coal, her hair black as night, she had eight arms and a whole bunch of slithering venomous snakes surrounded her. She overwhelmed him with a suffocating embrace. He fought against her but she was far too strong for him. Soon Alexander succumbed to her overwhelming strength. She reminded him of a darker, more dangerous Olympias, come to haunt him even when they were continents apart.

A dark cloud engulfed him. He fell into a deep, drugged sleep.

He did not know what he would wake up to.

**The King In Captivity**

Now King Alexander was stark awake. He was in a dark, cold, dismal and gloomy dungeon, sitting on a hard wooden cot. There were no cushions, mattresses or blankets whatsoever to shield him from the damp and cold.

He shivered violently.

Where was he? He missed his Companions and his Army. He especially missed Hephaestion, Cleitus and his faithful Guards.

Damp, mould and mildew sifted down from the stone roof and walls. It smelt something awful and he coughed and sneezed from displeasure.

Something was hissing at his feet. He looked down - straight into the eyes of a glaring and venomous cobra.

Alexander quickly withdrew his feet and curled up on the hard cot.

"Sikandar! How do you like my hospitality?"

A giant, dark haired man dressed in Indian green silks and with a necklace adorned with gold and blood red rubies suddenly appeared in the room. He was flanked by two huge tigers. Frightened servants cowered behind him and his feral guards.

"I am the Lord Ahriman, and you, Sikandar, will enjoy my hospitality for a very long time! I want my revenge for what you and your Companions did to my beloved brother, Ohrlaszh! "


	5. The Friends' Search

**Chapter Five**

**India, The land of the Five Rivers, 326 BC**

**The Friend's Search**

Hephaestion was a very tall man. The black panthers had no difficulties to crawl through the tunnel, but he had to bend his back to follow them. It was dark inside the path nature had made. The abundant foliage hung over him. Most of it was soft, sweet smelling and friendly. Some of the trees and bushes had very sharp and prickly thorns, barbs and nettles, and they stung him badly. The panthers had thick black fur, and they were not the least affected.

Hephaestion shrug it off, feeling no concern over the pains and aches. He could take any discomfort during the process to find his Golden One.

The green leaves and branches started to clear up. Hephaestion and his feline friends came forward into a big clearing in the jungle. Before him appeared a big city. It was so big that he found it unbelievable that it could exist in this far away place. It looked almost as enormous as the splendid Babylon.

This was no Babylon, though.

Where the Persian city was bright, flourishing, inviting and luxurious, this jungle city was dark, depressing, hostile and terrifying.

Its walls were looming coal black, its turrets looked like barbs and fangs and its palaces looked like prisons, probably filled with desolate dungeons.

It was guarded by an army of big, dark skinned Indian warriors. They were helped by tigers, formidable orange red and black striped specimens. There was something slithering at their feet.

A whole carpet of venomous cobras which helped to protect the city and its sinister inhabitants.

Hephaestion knew that his Golden One was inside this dreaded city. He also knew that it was an impregnable fort. The rock of Chorienes or Aornos were nothing in comparison to this jungle city. Even the stubborn walls and people of Tyre had been easy to scale and defeat in comparison to this den of horrors.

They were mere human adversaries.

This was something else. Hephaestion felt an age old Evil seep from the darkened walls of the ancient jungle city.

Khalisahr!

The word suddenly appeared in his mind as if written with dark, burning capitals. He had heard about it, but thought that it was a dreaded legend, just a tale of nightmares and delusions, spun to frighten children and weak minded people. In the dead of night, the Indian people told about a city built a long time ago to honour the Goddess of Death, Khali. It was her very own city. She ruled inside, together with the strong and Evil war lord Ahriman. He had lived there for a very long time. No one dared to challenge him. There was no escape from his dreaded dungeons.

Hephaestion knew that he had to find a way into this dreadful city. He felt in his heart of hearts that Alexander was kept prisoner behind its dark and foreboding walls.

Once more the necklace was burning and coiling at his neck and chest. The heavy stone drop sizzled like a hot coal and he had to lift it away from his skin. Suddenly, there was a flash emanating from the stone, pointing towards a hidden crevice in the walls. It was far away from the fanged gates and the guards with their tigers and cobras. No one knew that it was there, and no one would dare to enter even if they knew.

Hephaestion trembled and shuddered from fear and remorse. He knew that Death itself awaited him inside the Forbidden city of Khalisahr.

He had to enter all the same. He could not leave his Golden One inside this den of horrors.

Alexander needed him. Alexander had to be rescued, whatever the prize.

**The Friend's Failure**

Hephaestion approached the dark and foreboding walls of Khalisahr. His black panthers Nychta and Mavra were at his side, bravely padding along. They crept together through the dense grass, bushes and brambles, careful that the vigilant watchers of the city should not detect them.

Suddenly, there was a forceful barrier. The grass and brambles changed into a mass of slithering roots and tentacles. They grasped at Hephaestion and his feline friends, trying to strangle them and drag them down permanently into the deep jungle.

They fought with all their might. Hephaestion cut and hacked with his sharp, long knife and the panthers tore at the oppressive roots and tendrils with their fangs and claws.

They fought forever and ever against the hostile vegetation. At long last they were free from the sharp and slithering mass of roots, branches and tendrils. Exhausted they sat at the ground, comforting themselves with some sweet smelling flowers that grew in the grass and on the bushes.

When they were sufficiently recovered from their fight they looked up.

The city of Khalisahr was nowhere to be seen. It had once more disappeared behind a thick wall of jungle trees, green moisture and poisonous mists.

Alexander was there, behind this impregnable forest, in that city filled with horrors beyond imagination.


	6. The Trail To The Forbidden City

**Chapter Six**

**India, The land of the Five Rivers, 326 BC**

**The Friends Unite**

Ptolemy was still suffering from his illness brought on by the snakebite. The General needed badly to rest and recuperate. He could barely stand and his hands were trembling from weakness. His own health was not important to him anymore.

His King and friend needed him. He had Alexander to thank for his very life. Now the King was gone, and Hephaestion with him. The General knew that he must go and search for him. He rose from the warm stone and grasped for a stout wooden stick to support him. He hobbled along after the Companions, straight into the dense foliage of the jungle. Peritas and Pollux followed him. The King's and Hephaestion's watch dogs had remained with him, and now they were eagerly sniffing, wanting to find their dear Masters.

"Good dogs, good dogs, "Ptolemy said to them as he patted their furry heads. "You must help me find Alexander and Hephaestion. I fear that they are in some kind of terrible danger."

His injured foot hurt him something awful as he stubbornly limped throught the jungle. He stumbled time and again and almost fell several times. When he was about to give up he came upon his fellow Generals, Cleitus and Craterus.

"Ptolemy! Whatever are you doing out here in this hostile jungle?, "they called out to him in an outrage. "You are in no state to go searching for the King!"

**"**No, but he needs me, and Hephaestion, too! Have you seen any signs of where he has been taken?"

"No. Hephaestion and the panthers disappeared into some kind of tunnel. We could not follow through and we have not seen them since."

The three Generals continued through the thick jungle, followed by the faithful Guards and a whole search party. They found nothing and no one, and after hours of futile searching they feared to go astray in the endless jungle.

Then, they found Hephaestion on a small meadow, sitting exhausted together with his "tame" panthers Nychta and Mavra amongst a whole sea of blue and rose coloured sweet smelling flowers.

He looked up at them with tears in his blue eyes.

"I have lost Alexander. He is in that dreaded city, they call it Khalisahr. We MUST rescue him! I do not know how long he will survive inside that den of horrors!"

The King In Captivity, Continued

Once, he was the greatest commander and general of all, King of Macedon and the High King of Persia. Once, he had all the friends he needed and all the riches of the world.

Now, he was nothing but a hapless captive and he had nothing but a cold and dismal dungeon. He did not even know where he was, just that he was the prisoner of the Dark Lord Ahriman and the Goddess of Death, the dark and foreboding Khali. Alexander sat shivering and starving on a hard wooden cot. He nibbled at a hard bread covered with mould and mildew. It was nothing like the Royal Banquets he was used to. The stale and tepid water in the simple stone jug at his side was even worse. He longed for the rich red wine he used to drink at Court!

Rats scuttered all over his dungeon. All kinds of venomous snakes slithered all around him. He whispered a prayer of thanks to his mother the Queen. She had taught him to command the scaly creatures, or else he would have been bitten and killed many times over by now.

"Well, well, I never thought that I would feel thankful towards dear Mother and her numerous snakes, "the captive King mused to himself. "One never knows what will come one's way.

His stomach grumbled audibly. Alexander was very hungry and very thirsty too. He longed for soft bread, cheese and tender steaks, also, a whole jug of rich, strong, red wine. Most of all, he longed for Hephaestion. His true steadfast friend had always been at his side. Now he felt completely forlorn without him.

Suddenly there was a soft and sweet tingling at his neck and breast**. **The necklace he always wore was glowing, a warm, golden and comforting glow. It filled the dismal dungeon with light and hope.

"Hephaestion, "Alexander called out loud, "I know that you are out there someplace, looking for me. You will find me, and soon we will be together again."

Alexander wrapped himself into his ragged and threadbare blanket. Against all odds he now felt secure and protected, completely reassured that his Dear One and his faithful Companions were looking for him.

Soon, they would find him.

Soon, they would be together again.

The King fell asleep, trusting and confident as a child in his mother's arms.

**The Friend's Search, Continued**

The Companions had brought food and drink as they followed Ptolemy on his stumbling excursion into the jungle. They managed to persuade Hephaestion to take some wine, bread and dried meat.

"General, you must eat and drink to be able to go on, "Stefanos adamantly told his dear Lord. "You will need all your strength if you are to find King Alexander."

"No, I have lost all my appetite, "Hephaestion argued against him. "I cannot eat and drink when Alexander is held captive in that horrible city!"

"Your panthers are wiser than you, my Lord, "Stefanos answered, pointing towards the big black jungle cats.

Nychta and Mavra had caught a big boar and they ate it with a hearty appetite. Afterwards they drank their fill from a sparkling brook nearby. Then they came to Hephaestion, gently rubbing themselves against his legs, purring like two cuddly kittens. Hephaestion patted their furry heads and shoulders.

"Good girls, good girls. Now let's go find Alexander together! I will just have some food and drink, too. We all need our strength."

The general first ate reluctantly, then he managed to muster a hearty appetite. He gobbled down the bread, cheese and meat and thirstily drank the wine mixed with boiled water. Now, he felt refreshed and strengthened and he was eagerly looking forward to his important search.

Alexander needed him. Dreadful things could have happened to his King and friend inside the horrible city of Khalisahr.

He rose and beckoned to all the Companions. They armed themselves and went together into the jungle. Nychta and Mavra soon found the path leading to the forbidden city of Khalisahr.

It lead them into no where.

There was a glen in the jungle. In that glen was nothing but a slithering mass of roots, thorny bushes and hissing snakes**. **

Khalisahr was nowhere to be seen.

Hephaestion once more felt the necklace coiling and tingling on his neck and breast. It now glowed with a golden and reassuring light.

"Good Genie, "Hephaestion called out. "Dear Adelpha, you must help us! We need you to find our friend and King! Alexander needs you!"

Suddenly, a beautiful golden haired woman appeared before their very eyes. She was dressed in heavenly blue and she looked at them with warm love and reassurance.

"Yes, I am here now. I will help you find your friend and King again, "she told them with a voice filled with concern and kindness, "It will be hard work and you will need all your wits and strength."

**The King In Torment**

Alexander fell asleep on his wooden couch in the dreary dungeon. When he woke up he was resting on soft perfumed cushions in the luxurious chamber that had at first welcomed him into his cruel captivity. The dark woman, the dreadful Khali once more held him in her arms. She had eight or more of them and they slithered around him, holding him in a grip of iron. She was heavily scented with perfumes and frankincense. The strong fragrances were pleasantly smelling in themselves, but it was simply too much of them. Alexander felt himself begin to suffocate, both from the strong scents and the death goddess's overwhelming embrace. The hot air shimmered in strange and beautiful rainbow patterns before his eyes as he succumbed into a merciful unconsciousness.

The last thing he saw was the Dark Lord Ahriman sitting on a chair, smiling gleefully towards him. Cruel words found their way into his ears, slithering and hissing like venomous snakes inside his aching head.

"Sikandar! Soon you will see the last of this world, "his cruel captor told him. "My faithful Goddess will see to that!"


	7. Final Struggle And Conclusion

**Chapter Seven**

**The Forbidden City of Khalisahr, 326 BC**

**The Friend In Torment**

Hephaestion felt the stone on the necklace slither on his throat and chest. It had suddenly become red hot and it throbbed, as if filled with some dangerous venom. He had difficulties with breathing and he felt his mind drift away as unconsciousness slowly claimed him.

"General Hephaestion! How are you?, "Stefanos worriedly called out to him.

He was unable to answer. He could still hear but his voice did not obey him. He moved his lips but no words could be heard from him. Strong arms held him in a forceful embrace. He was shaken back into reality, looking up into General Cleitus' dark and worried countenance. The black maned General roared at him.

"Hephaestion! You must stay awake. We all need you to command us if we are to find the King alive!"

Hephaestion held one hand on his throat and the other on his chest, desperately struggling for breath. It seemed like forever before he was able to answer his worried friends.

"Alexander is in some kind of dreadful danger, "he said. "I can feel it - here."

He put his hand over his heart and a tear fell from his eye. All the Companions felt his concern and sorrow. They all shared it with him.

King Alexander was important to all of them. They would be completely lost without him, lost in a country filled with innumerable dangers and enemies.

A rivulet of golden hair wafted before his eyes. A white hand held a golden goblet to his lips. A woman in a skye blue dress rimmed with gold appeared before him, offering strength and comfort.

"Drink this, Hephaestion. It will help you to regain your wits and strength.

He gulped down the sweet tasting herbal concoction. It tasted from the strange and unfamiliar fruits and berries of this unfriendly country, but it soon filled his veins with new strength and courage.

"Thanks, good Adelpha, "he answered when he had gulped it all down. "How can you be here in India, in this far away realm? I thought that you were bound to your place in Macedon."

"Yes, Hephaestion, so I am, but I am bound to you and Alexander as well. My necklaces allow me to feel your well being - and your suffering. Now when you need me, I have come to be at your side when you search for your friend."

**Into The Forbidden City**

Hephaestion held the necklace before him. It shone like a beacon, burning a flaming path through the slithering mass of thickets, roots and snakes before them. Nychta and Mavra padded at his side, together with Cleitus, Stefanos and Alexios. The fires from the necklace seemed to chase the thickets and venomous fogs away. After what seemed like an endless struggle through the hostile vegetation, the forbidden city of Khalisahr with its walls and onion shaped towers appeared before their eyes once more. There was a wooden door emerging in the thick stone wall. General Cleitus tackled it forcefully with his strong shoulder. It did not give way, but then he kicked it with wrath and anger. Now, it crumbled into splinters before his big, boot clad foot.

They all entered a long tunnel. It was dark and dank, its stony walls clad with moss, mould and mildew, glowing in all kinds of sickly green, yellow and blue colours. The necklace guided them. Its flaming glow chased the darkness away and allowed them to march along in a steady and secure manner.

At the end of the tunnel was a chamber. At first their nostrils were assaulted by strong scents of perfume and frankincense. Then a sinister sight appeared before their eyes.

Alexander lay unconscious, pale and wan on an enormous feather bed flooding over with fiery red, orange and yellow silken cushions. A Dark Lord sat on a high chair at the side, gleefully laughing at the King's torment. The King of Macedon was in the arms of an enormous woman with blue black skin and coal black hair, dressed in a dark blue gown and a blood red cloak. A belt, with many human skulls attached to it, rattled around her lithe waist like a macabre adornment. The poor skulls had tormented grins, and it looked as if they had been subjected to much suffering before they died. The dark woman had eight or more strong black arms, making her appear like some kind of dangerous and hungry spider.

Hephaestion had seen her likeness before, in several Indian temples.

She was Khali, the Goddess of Death and Destruction. Woe to the ones who had to face her in the real world!

Hephaestion held out the necklace as a token of protection. It shone like a flaming beacon in his trembling hand. Nychta and Mavra stood at his sides, ferociously growling. His friends were behind him, ready to back him up. Now he felt steady and determined.

"Release him, you minions of darkness!, "he called out to the dark Lord and his black haired Goddess. "I will not let you torment my Golden One any longer! He is mine, mine forever!"

**Struggle Against The Death Goddess**

The dark Goddess rose from her hapless victim. Alexander's head fell back on the cushions and his hands hung limp and listless over the edges of the bed. Hephaestion could not see if he was breathing at all. His friend looked as if he was already dead and gone.

At the sight of the dreadful state of his friend Hephaestion felt himself become consumed by an overwhelming sorrow, soon replaced by a flaming rage.

"NO! NOOOOO! This must not be!, "he called out loud, so loud that the Goddess of Death and the Dark Lord had to put their hands to their ears. "Release him, immeditately"!

"No, you loud mouthed one, "the Dark Goddess answered. "I am Khali, Goddess of Death and Destruction. What I have claimed I will never release!"

Hephaestion was not satisfied with that answer. He would never abandon his friend and King to such horrors. He felt the necklace around his neck, emanating a comforting warmth. It filled him with strength and determination as he leaped at the Dark Goddess. He grasped at her, feeling her lithe and strong body. She lashed out at him with her eight arms. They were so strong and agile that they felt like many more than eight.

Hephaestion had never met such a dangerous and devious enemy before.

Their struggle went on forever and ever. Nychta and Mavra joined Hephaestion, together with Cleitus and the faithful Guards. The dark Lord joined the Goddess of Death. They all fought in the chamber, until they were exhausted, worn out and panting from distress. The furniture was beaten into splinters and the fabrics and cushions were torn to shreds around them. The black panthers lay in a heap in a corner. Cleitus had joined them. The black maned General lay unconscious on the floor. Now only Hephaestion, Stefanos and Alexios struggled against Khali and the dark Lord. They were stumbling and trembling, soon to weak even to lift their hands and shield themselves agains the blows of evil and destruction.

Their enemies were winning the day.

King Alexander lay unconscious on the bed. He felt stronger now when the dark Goddess did not hold him in her suffocating and merciless embrace. Still, he could not open his eyes and he was unable to move. He could hear the sounds of a dreadful fight in the chamber, and then he felt the bed collapse in a heap of splinters and a cloud of torn fabrics and cushions around him. In all that turmoil he could feel a comforting cool arm embrace him and a friendly hand caress his troubled brow. At long last he opened his eyes, looking into sky blue eyes and a face sorrounded by a cloud of golden hair. A goblet filled with a sweet herbal concoction was held to his lips.

"Drink this, King Alexander. You need to regain your strength, and your friends need you!"

Alexander drank the concoction in several gulps. It tasted strongly of Eastern herbs and spices, also of sweet and fragrant jungle fruits.

It tasted even better than strong red wine. Soon he felt his strength and determination return. He rose on trembling legs, looking at the dreadful struggle on the floor. Hephaestion was in the arms of the dark Goddess, and the Guards were being slashed and stabbed at by the dark Lord.

Alexander looked around him, grasping for some kind of weapon.

There were none to be had.

The King of Macedon would never give in to helplessness. He prowled the debris of the smashed furniture. Soon he found a large splinter of hard black wood. It was sharp as a sword in one end, heavy as a club in the other.

The enemies did not see him. They were totally occupied with tormenting their hapless victims. Alexander leaped at the dark Goddess, impaling her with the makeshift sword. She fell with an anguished scream, lying still in a puddle of black blood. Then he smashed the dark Lord with the club end of his makeshift weapon. He went down like a big tree with black leaves falling onto the floor. His gown covered him like giant bat wings.

Alexander went to Hephaestion, lifting him from the floor. His friend soon recovered in his arms, opening his eyes and returned the fond embrace.

"Alexander. You are safe, at long last you are safe with me!"

Nychta and Mavra came and fondly licked their Dear Masters. Cleitus and the Guards recovered. They all turned their backs on the Forbidden city of Khalisahr, never to return to that dreadful place again.

They did not hear the ominous whispers behind their backs.

"Beware, Sikandar and Hephaestion. I will have my revenge. You will never be safe from me, never..."

A coal black shape rose up up from the darkness. It had eight arms and it was surrounded by dark shadows. Venomous cobras slithered around its feet.

It was impossible to kill the Goddess of Death and Destruction.

Khali would wait for them, eager to claim her revenge.

**Conclusion**

**Happy Reunion**

**India, The land of the Five Rivers, 326 BC**

Now they all were back in Camp. There was a sumptuous Royal Banquet in progress. Alexander and Hephaestion sat on a couch together, supported by red and orange soft cushions. They drank well watered red wine and ate soft, sweet fruits and vegetables, together with all kinds of well roasted meat on wooden spits. All the Companions shared the merriment with them. They toasted one another and sang songs of praise for Hephaestion, telling about his determination as he searched for his friend and King in the Jungle.

Nychta and Mavra rested at the feet of the King and his friend. They enjoyed a feast of their own, with rich food and clear, sparkling water. Peritas and Pollux joined them.

Just for now the dogs and the panthers were fond friends. The happy reunion called for such unusual friendship.

A golden haired woman dressed in a sky blue gown sat in the background. She carefully watched over all the company.

Two necklaces shone on the necks and chests of Alexander and Hephaestion.

"Take good care of my gifts, my precious charges "Adelpha told them. "You will need them again, another time and another day - but you will not know when..."

The End


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